An icon in the making

Volume 48, No. 12, July 13, 2006

FIREBIRD: A later tropical variant flying from the Northern Territory.

THIS March marked the 70th anniversary of an aviation icon.

It was the month in which the Supermarine Spitfire flew its maiden flight.

The name come from medieval English and referred to a person with a fiery temper.

The new aircraft made its maiden flight on March 5, 1936, and the first operational aircraft joined the RAF in 1938.

By the end of the WWII, the Spitfire was operating in all theatres of the war and was flown by most of the Allied air forces.

With the arrival of the jet age, the Spitfire quickly became obsolete, with the last operational mission flown in 1954.

Today, of the 24,000 Spitfires, only about 50 are in airworthy condition world-wide. Dozens of others are maintained in restored or partially-restored static condition at air bases or in museums and no doubt others exist unrestored or for parts.

Others are found in crashed or abandoned condition and schemes for their recovery and restoration are announced.

The RAAF flew 758 Spitfires in Australia and another 326 with RAAF squadrons in the UK. The only two flying examples are maintained by the Temora Aviation Museum; an ex-RAAF Mk V, which was received in Australia at the end of the war, and a Mk VI flown by the RAAF’s 453SQN in England.

Spitfire specifications:
 Length: 9.12m
 Wingspan: 11.23m
 Height: 3.86m
 Wing area: 22.48m²
 Maximum speed: 605km/h
 Rate of climb: 13.5m/sec

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